ProAudio Review - February 2009 - (Page 29)

Software installation was straightforward, but there’s no driver disk in the box. The manual directs you to an A&H website for the current driver, bypassing the typical cycle of installing an outdated driver, then learning of an important update. I expect that as the product matures, a driver disk will ship with it, but honestly, I like their direct approach. I used a Windows XP computer for my evaluation, but the driver also works with Vista, and rather than depend on Apple’s Core Audio system, there’s a Mac driver as well. The digital path sounds very good, the result of high-quality A/D and D/A converter chips supported by good design. They’ll hold their own against all but top-quality standalone converters and add good value to the console. The converters used for the main mix output and stereo return (a single codec chip) have a bit more noise (hence less dynamic range) than those for the main channels. This, plus the fact that they’re disabled above 48 kHz sample rate, seems a bit odd to me since this is essentially your “master” path. When mixing analog and recording the mix back to the computer, you’re not using the best converters in the console. Equally important, when mixing in the DAW and monitoring through the console, you’re not listening through your best D/A converter. You can, of course, route the DAW mix back through the higher grade channel converters, but that puts the full console in the monitor path, so pick your poison. ADAT optical I/O is a bit tricky. The console normally uses its internal clock for data synchronization. When interconnecting anything digitally, it’s necessary that the word clocks of the devices on both sides of the digital interface be synchronized. Synchronization is simple when connecting the ZED’s ADAT outputs to a recorder that can synchronize its clock to the incoming data (such as an Alesis HD24). However not all devices have that capability, or you may only be connecting ADAT outputs to the mixer. Since the ZED has neither word clock input nor output, it’s necessary to configure the mixer to synchronize its clock to the ADAT input. This is possible, but clumsy in the present configuration. The ZED’s clock source (Internal/ADAT) is selected via the driver control panel, requiring a computer to be connected. Unfortunately, this setting doesn’t stick once you power down the mixer, so you can’t work in the field with the ADAT as the word clock master unless there’s a computer nearby. MIDI Controls In addition to the 16 main faders that double as MIDI continuous controllers (CC), there are four dedicated CC faders (the ones that look like they should be submasters), 12 CC rotary knobs, 12 note on/off buttons, and five MIDI Machine Control (MMC) transport buttons. Defaults are MIDI Channel 16 and MMC Device ID 127. With some manual dexterity (holding down buttons while pressing other buttons) and the knowledge to count in binary, the MIDI channel can be changed, though the MMC Device ID is fixed. The ZED lacks built-in support for common control surface protocols such as HUI or Mackie Control, so it’s necessary (or call it “flexible”) to manually map controllable DAW functions to the CC or note on/off buttons. This is tedious but straightforward using the MIDI Learn mode in Sonar LE and other DAW programs. MIDI control over FireWire is the conventional setup, but there’s also a standard 5pin MIDI OUT, which can be used for controlling external devices such as reverbs. Summary If I were designing an analog console to integrate nicely with a DAW, it would look and work a whole lot like the ZED-R16. Allen & Heath deserves a big pat on the back for understanding the traditional multitrack workflow model and incorporating it without putting a lot of restrictions on the user. As a mixing console, it sounds excellent. It is flexible. It is logically laid out. It’s all the things you want a console to be. A&H has taken quite a leap of faith that there will be customers for a console at this price point that doesn’t have DAW integration as an afterthought. It’s a new product, it has some room to evolve, and it will do so if the user base is there. While I have my wish list of enhancements, my list of quibbles is short and pretty inconsequential. The manual could use some expansion, but there’s a growing collection of supplemental material on the website. While the Sonar LE DAW included with the mixer is a little skimpy (limited to eight active inputs), it’s enough to get started (if you’re just getting started with a DAW, that is). Give the panel a new matte-black paint job, and I’ll take it. February 2009 | ProAudioReview 29 http://www.linearsystems.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - February 2009

ProAudio Review - February 2009 Contents From Razor Slice To Mouse Click Hot Gear At Winter NAMM ’09: Studio Prioritizing Good Acoustics In Tough Times Digidesign Pro Tools 8 Allen & Heath ZED-R16 Analog Mixing Console Mike Rivers Nevaton MC Series Studio Condenser Microphones FMR Audio Really Nice Series Pre-Amp and Dynamics Modules Mojave Audio MA-201 FET Condenser Microphone Genelec 6010A and 5040A Powered Loudspeaker and Subwoofer Massey Plug-Ins De:Esser Hot Gear At Winter NAMM ’09: Live White Space Regulation: What It Means To Us Recording Live Sound Summit Church in Fort Myers, Florida Bag End P-Crystal R Loudspeaker Mark Olson & Gary Louris’ “Turn Your Pretty Name Around”

ProAudio Review - February 2009

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